December 2009, Part Uno

Ah, December. It could be argued that there is no busier month of the year. It could also be argued that eggnog rubbed on plantar warts causes one to hallucinate about frolicking pain-free in a field of wild clovers, thus proving that one can argue almost any point on one's blog and no one will bother arguing to the contrary because hey, it's an inconsequential family blog, so why waste the time?

Major digression.

Back to December. We launched the merriest of months with the Santa Dash 5k/10k run in Kent. While sitting in the car waiting for the race to begin, what did our wondering eyes behold? A "what not to do before a run" representation in full view. See picture below. The upside was the conversation we had with the kids about the logic behind the following equation: smoking + running still equates to shrunken, blackened lungs and cardiovascular disease. They nodded knowingly. All hail to multimedia health presentations/scare tactics employed by the public school system.



Sean ran the 10k, although I have no pictures of him. My defense is that he's just too fast :). But here's Tanner at take off. Tucker was planning on running as well but opted out when his toothpick legs turned blue and his bones fused to their joints due to the cold.

Here's Tanner rounding the turn near the finish line. I love his focus when he runs. It reminds me of the intense focus it takes for me to get my sorry rear end out of bed every morning.

Ah, and what would the holidays be without a middle school band concert? Tanner is admittedly pretty impressive on the ol' swing machine. Although it hasn't made any middle band concert programs that I'm aware of, his favorite song to play is called, "Caveman Gets a Haircut." It comes complete with two junctures in the score where the sax player grunts decisively.

Though now a graduate of the less-than-easy-listening sixth grade band, Katelyn has become a pivotal clarinetist in the seventh grade band. I begged her to wear the blinking Rudolph nose but she opted instead for the Santa hat. Conformist.

To boldly quote Herman Melville, "Thar she blows!"

I Saw Tanner Kissing Santa Claus. It doesn't have the traditional ring of the famous Christmas jingle, but this is a better story. A co-worker of Sean's dared my kids to kiss Santa, promising in return two extra lottery tickets for the prize drawings at the office Christmas party. Tanner and Kate were the only takers. There is no picture of Katelyn kissing Santa due to a failed flash, but here's Tanner laying one on Jolly Ole Saint Nick. He was mortified that I caught it on film, so I respectfully offered to buy the rights to his photo with a super-sized Slurpee.

While Tanner's ticket was not chosen in the drawing, Katelyn scored a 40" plasma TV (see below). It now resides in our family room, with the promise that it goes off to college with her in six years.

The holidays have been peppered with frequent visits/sleepovers with the Crosby clan (aka "The Flight Risks"). We love having my sister Anna and her family nearby again. Hopefully they'll make it through the winter before fleeing the state! This picture is but a single representation of the many wild moments our kids share together (they're getting fired up for a wrestling match against the girls).

This picture is worth a closer look. The lesson to be learned here, I believe, is that if a child warrants being smothered by a pillow, one should not do it too gleefully. Child Protective Services frowns on that. One should also not smother other people's children. (This is NOT her child :). Thanks, Jen, for the mid-blog, child-rearing "what not to do" moment.

Jen and her sweet boys hosted a raging Christmas party before they left for Utah. The decible level reached the sound barrier breaking point, if I recall correctly.

The kids honing their gift opening skills at a pre-Christmas morning event with Andrew, Preston and Jen, all surrogate Sundwall family members, on the 18th.

AAHHHH! I just realized my family is downstairs having fun without me. Must run!